Eastern Christian Studies

Eastern Christian Studies

University College Stockholm (EHS), in collaboration with the Sankt Ignatios foundation, now offers programs for the formation of priests and religious educators (Paidagogos/Malfono/Marigeta) within the Orthodox Church, as well as a general Bachelor’s and Master’s program in Eastern Christian studies.

Within the Eastern Christian studies department, there are five programs to choose from:

The Pastoral program, for ordination to the priesthood, 180 credits - 9 semesters, including studies at folk high school level

The Pastoral and Religious Educator programs are divided into two stages. The first stage consists of one year of study at folk high school. This year provides a solid foundation in Orthodox faith and teaching, introducing students to the liturgical languages of the Church, and equipping them to critically engage with the sources of faith.

The second stage of the Pastoral Program consists of a bachelor's degree at EHS combined with studies in pastoral work and church languages at folk high school. For the Religious Educator Program, the second stage consists of a bachelor’s and a master's degree at EHS, as well as studies in pedagogy and Church languages at folk high school which are studied in parallel with the courses at EHS.

The Pastoral Program is practically oriented with focus on practical theology, Church languages and the sources of the faith. The Religious Educator program focuses on the development of expertise in Eastern Christian studies, focusing especially on pedagogy and Church languages. These programs are intended to be vocational, and to contribute to the formation of the students’ Christian faith and identity. We seek to maintain high academic and pedagogical standards. The teaching staff at EHS and Sankt Ignatios encompasses a very broad range of theological competence.

We also accept candidates directly to EHS courses, even without the prerequisite folk high school studies, provided that applicants have acquired an equivalent foundation within Eastern Christian Studies. In such cases, the program comprise three years of study, and students are then exempt from the parallel folk high school studies in Church language and pastoral or pedagogical work.

At Sankt Ignatios applicants to the pastoral program are evaluated based on an admissions interview. All courses require general entry requirements for university studies.

The following plan describes the makeup of the Bachelor’s Program in Eastern Christian Studies, 180 credits. The Pastoral and Religious Educator programs comprise most of these courses (or equivalent courses), but they are combined with studies at folk high school as well as an one year foundational course at folk high school. The Religious Educator and Master’s programs entail an additional two years of study at master's level.

There is more information about the under-graduate programs in our catalogue: